Some people prefer to send their children to private rather than government schools. The idea of course is that children receive a better education in private schools. Many parents make considerable financial sacrifices so that their children can learn English, computer sciences, develop their talents and participate in extra-curricular activities. And all this happens — so we are led to believe — in a relaxed atmosphere in which classes are not as crowded as those in government schools.
A close look, however, at some of the private schools that have mushroomed all over the Kingdom will reveal a truth quite different from the one presented by private school administrators, supporters and owners. The reputations of private schools have been seriously blackened by the behavior of some owners whose main concern is making profit rather than providing education.
Some private school buildings are so deficient in terms of basic safety standards that one wonders how they were licensed in the first place. Many private schools operate from old rented buildings, originally designed as private residences but now miraculously transformed into classrooms. The pupils and students are squeezed into small rooms with very little space for non-academic and extra-curricular activities.
The main problem with these schools has nothing to do with a lack of space or poor safety standards but to the very soul of any system of education: The teacher. Because most owners think only of profits, they hire unqualified teachers from outside the Kingdom who are paid very low salaries. Some of the teachers are men hired locally who are already in the country as guardians for their wives; others are women hired locally who are here with their husbands.
Under these circumstances, it is not surprising to find teachers seeking favors from their students who, because of threats, intimidation and fear, feel obliged to shower their teachers with gifts. I know of a friend who removed his child from a private school because he realized that such practices would ruin his child’s future chances and negate the very idea of education.
Does the Ministry of Education conduct regular evaluations of conditions in these schools? Does the ministry make sure that the schools abide by the rules? Is there a standard system for hiring teachers for private schools from abroad? Why are there so few Saudi teachers at these schools at a time when many Saudis are unemployed? Perhaps the minister of education will be so kind as to provide us with some answers.
Arab News From the Local Press 26 March 2003
